2016 School Rankings: New Jersey's Best Districts, Colleges, Teachers

How does your child's school stack up against those in the next town over? What districts have the best teachers? Who scored the best on PARCC and other tests? And what New Jersey colleges have the best return for your investment?

Those topics are among the most-read school stories covered on Patch during 2016.

Patch covered a variety of rankings, including those by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, Forbes and Niche.com. To recap, here's a look at some of the coverage throughout 2016:

N.J.'s Best, Worst Teachers Ranked By School District In Controversial State Review

New New Jersey teacher evaluation data was released in December, and many parents and reachers didn't like it when they saw how their school district was ranked using the controversial rating system.

PARCC English Results: 371 N.J. High Schools, From Best To Worst

The second batch of results from the state's PARCC tests came out in 2016, and the data showed that many students are not yet meeting grade-level expectations.

PARCC Math Results: 389 N.J. High Schools, From Best To Worst

We have the list of high schools, from best to worst, based on the percentage of students whose spring 2016 test performances showed they are "not yet meeting expectations" in the Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II sections

8 N.J. Colleges Among Best In America, U.S. News & World Report Rankings Show

New Jersey has the best college in the nation — and seven others were listed among the best in the U.S. News & World Report 2017 rankings.

These 5 New Jersey Colleges Give You The 'Best Bang For Your Buck,' Analysis Says

You may be surprised - even shocked - to see the five N.J. colleges that give you the best bang for your buck. And they may not be cheap.

PARCC Elementary School Results: 556 Districts, Ranked Best To Worst

We have the list of districts, from best to worst, based on the percentage of third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students whose spring 2016 test performances showed they are "not yet meeting expectations" in the English/Language section.

These 100 Districts Have New Jersey's Best Teachers, New Rankings Say

According to Niche.com, the 2016 Districts with the Best Teachers ranking provides a "comprehensive assessment of the teachers of a school district.

Top 100 N.J. School Districts In 2016, Plus National Rankings

The national and state lists rank school districts based on teaching statistics and about 920,000 ratings from 240,000 students and parents.

U.S. News Ranks Top High Schools In New Jersey, Nation

Perhaps the most respected of publications that surveys top high schools in the nation came out with its 2016 list, after evaluating more than 28,000 schools to determine the highest-performing.

51 N.J. Public High Schools Rank Among Nation's Best In Newsweek's 2016 List

Newsweek’s list of the best public high schools in the country includes 30 in Pennsylvania.

Top 100 N.J. Elementary Schools In 2016, And In U.S. - Is Your School Here?

Where are New Jersey’s best public elementary schools? According to Niche.com, many of them are in Morris and Essex counties, but they're all over the state.

New Jersey's Best Private Schools: Top 100 For 2017

An education and real estate website has come out with a 2017 list of best private schools in New Jersey.

New Jersey's Highest And Lowest Paid Teachers By School District

See the whole list of New Jersey school districts and their 2015-16 median teacher salaries, from highest to lowest.

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